Introduction

Somewhere on the Earth is a small island surrounded by miles and miles of open sea, waves crashing on the stoney beaches, tidepools flickering in the sunlight, every day all day forever. The water is like paint, deep enough that it can’t be wiped away or spread out because it will stain everything, turn all the white into itself, not be happy about it, but not sad either. That’s just how it is. There are people on this island, who have no name for where they live because they believe it is the whole world on a universe of water, breathing with tides, a creature they stand upon and respect but do not wonder about. They know nothing about societies that live on concrete earth flattened and scraped, covered with dirt, light bouncing off of office buildings to the ground. They know nothing of the life where people debate about what others deserve, where everything is colored or uncolored, where everything is changing, where we laugh one day and cry the next. Living is simple, and it is what they expect. They gather and hunt food, tell stories around small fires at night, collect water from the leaves when it rains, which is often. There are no seasons on this island; there are occasional tropical storms, but because of currents and the placement of the land in the deep sea, at the top of an ancient, inactive volcano, these storms are weak and often bring more good, with their accompanying rain and slightly cooler weather, than destruction. Under a watchful sky, changing at its own pace, the village teaches its children to read to stars, to find the best tidepools for digging clams, and to be kind to each other. The sea and the land give the islanders what they need. Fish jump into the nets the most skilled women cast down from small rock cliffs a few yards above the ocean on the back, or front, depending on your perspective, of the island. Fruits, like orange grapes and smoky blue papayas, ripen on vines and trees throughout the land. The grasses and many leaves can be cut or picked to take back to the village and grind into juices, ointments, or broth for stew. The people live off of what is given to them, laughing and learning and assured in each other, in a small cleared area in the center of the island, surrounded by trees which are surrounded by bushes which are surrounded by grasses, surrounded by stone, surrounded by water, and so it has been and always will be.